Hello there!
Even though coronavirus has disrupted day-to-day activities, it has led to increased internet usage while causing search traffic to business websites to plummet. This trend has been observed across many different industries. This doesn’t mean that SEO has fallen off in fact, it is more important than ever during these difficult times.
In this article, we will be looking into the various benefits of SEO for small businesses, especially during this COVID-19 time period. So, let us take an in-depth look into understanding the impact of SEO:
Related: 10 Crucial SEO Ranking Factors You Need to Know
What is the impact of COVID-19 on search traffic?
SEO is incredibly important right now because internet use has been the highest since forever. Internet use does not refer exclusively to online searches and includes a wide array of activities such as electronic transfers, virtual meetings, gaming, movie streaming, mobile apps, social media, and more.
In a time marked by so many questions and uncertainty, there has been a significant uptick in at-home pursuits and search volume with a focus on health, news, and other relevant industries. This has also caused a decline in traffic to nonessential business websites, from paid and organic results.
SEO looks very different depending on the industry, that you are focusing on such as:
- SEO is important for standing out and getting chosen over competitors in search results, for essential businesses.
- SEO seems a lot less important and maybe pointless for non-essential businesses.
So, what is the importance of SEO during COVID-19?
COVID-19 is trending and will continue to trend:
Even though coronavirus has been trending for a while, it will stop trending after a certain point of time. There will always be evergreen questions that your customers have which, will remain relevant long after the outbreak has subsided.
Related: Winning The Organic Search Traffic Game
Content that is evergreen will still shine:
Writing about trending topics related to your business is okay but these pages will decline in traffic over time. You are less likely to rank in the first place since leading brands and high authority websites will dominate page one results. Content that is written on evergreen topics within your niche will always stay relevant and accumulate substantial traffic over time. Due to this, there is never a bad time to publish content on evergreen topics.
SEO is not just about traffic:
The purpose of SEO is to increase qualified traffic which means that your website visitors are finding their way to your website in the face of opposing trends. Your website readers are more likely to be interested in what you have to offer and this can help you identify highly qualified leads for your business to nurture in the future.
SEO gains are long-term:
The gains obtained from SEO are all about long-term goals, by gaining the trust of search engines. The only way to achieve this is slowly over time, through consistent output. There have been significant gains from SEO which do not typically happen until three or so months down the line, there is a lot more than you can be doing now which is worth your while. A study conducted found that only 1% of pages that ranked in the first position on Google were less than a year old.
Search is definitely going to become more important:
Traffic to many websites from search engines may have reduced drastically, but traffic to search engines has not reduced. People who listen to the radio on their commute are checking Google for updates and the older generation of consumers who relied on their caretakers will voice assistants to get answers, for their questions.
There has already been a growing reliance on search engines that have accelerated during COVID-19. With already-advancing search platforms that are skyrocketing ahead, it makes search engine marketing such as PPC or SEM more crucial than ever. By making SEO a priority during COVID-19 you can ensure success for your brand.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, SEO is more important than ever especially during the
coronavirus pandemic because:
- Travel restrictions are causing consumers to seek out nearby businesses.
- Consumers are looking for SMBs to support.
- SEO is the means by which SMBs can stand apart from competitors.
- It is free and you might just have the time.
We hope you found this article informative in understanding the importance of SEO. SEO can also be a potential solution for businesses experiencing the financial burdens and slower pacing of COVID-19. This can help you become more visible on searches that are being performed now, by setting yourself up for success once search behavior becomes normal.
Thanks for reading!
